Faster decisions, a more streamlined approval process, and increased access to land have all been promised in the Government’s new planning reforms.
The scope and range of the impact to contractors is vast: done well, this could mean better management of timelines, reductions in delay-related costs, and, ultimately, greater pace of projects.
The proposed changes have been met with mixed reviews, but our view is that they hold enormous opportunity – if implemented well.
“It’s good to see the new Government coming forward with proposals to speed up the planning process. Whilst effective consultation is a core part of our local democracy, seeing greater involvement from professional planners should speed up approvals,” says John Sinfield, Country Manager of Siniat UK. “As a manufacturer, the key is having pipeline visibility that gives us the ability to manage our operations with greater efficiency. Whilst, as always, the implementation will be key, these announcements are a welcome indicator of the future direction.”
Faster planning decisions lay a clearer path for key projects
The unpredictable nature of the planning process has long been a frustration for the entire construction industry. Long delays and uncertain approval times can make managing production and material supply difficult. With a new aim of expediting planning processes, professional planners from central authorities will take the lead to reduce lengthy bottlenecks.
For manufacturers, faster decisions mean much clearer visibility into the flow of future projects, allowing for better planning and supply with greater certainty – the clearer and more predictable the planning process, the more efficiently we can respond. We’ll be ready to meet demand, as and when it arrives.
Opening up land for more development
A key aim of the reforms is to free up unoccupied land for development use. Easing land-use restrictions and re-development areas are the planned strategies to combat increased infrastructure needs and housing targets. For the industry, this seems to spell good news across the board: more land means more buildings.
Meeting ambitious demand
The underlying focus and priority of the reforms is not actually to speed up planning decisions – rather, removing red tape in order to deliver more housing, and more infrastructure. Housing was a clear priority for revising the process, and accelerating these projects will be critical to meet targets. As far as contractors are concerned, high-priority developments will be crucial for meeting the nation’s housing needs.
Large infrastructure projects are also amongst some the highest priorities. At a bottom line, streamlined approval process will allow building work to begin sooner, resulting in fewer delays, faster project delivery. Critically, it could also mean greater mobilisation of resources and a steadier pipeline of work.
The impact on the wider industry
Not everyone in the construction industry will be directly impacted by planning reforms. The knock on impact, however, stands to benefit us all.
The benefits for contractors are fairly cut-and-dry: more projects moving forward means more construction activity. Practically, this translates into more jobs, more productivity, more growth.
Those further down the chain will also benefit from the ripple effect. Demand for materials, logistics, and equipment will increase – but with the foresight of better, more effective planning. Resources can be managed with greater certainty, ultimately boosting efficiency and profitability.
Maintaining the balance of speed and quality
On the whole, the impact of the reforms should be positive. However, we must be careful and consider the risk at hand. The primary concern is that speeding up the approval process could result in reduced scrutiny of projects – with the potential to compromise quality, safety, or sustainability.
This presents a real challenge. Rushed approvals could mean projects start without fully assessed risk. Longer-term consequences or problems could be created further down the line that – and be expensive and time-consuming to fix. While making the planning process faster will be a welcome change, the onus is on us to keep focus on quality safety, and sustainability standards. Ensuring projects meet all necessary standards will then help to avoid potentially costly and time-consuming errors.
A recurring concern is that in bypassing local planning authorities, local communities and their concerns might not be adequately considered. Historically, local councils and residents in planning have not only played a key role in ensuring projects fit within the community and serve its needs, but can create opposition, blockers, and delays once construction is underway. The new planning system will need to find the balance of maintaining local engagement, while also increasing efficiency.
Cautious but positive change
These reforms represent a positive shift for main contractors in the UK. Faster planning approvals and the increased availability of land hope to open up greater opportunities and reduce project lag for contractors. Ultimately, delivering more work in less time. For the construction industry, which has struggled across the board in recent years, this will come as a relief.
If implemented correctly, these reforms could bring about significant and welcome change. The removal of any barriers in a complex and creaky planning process will unlock key, large-scale projects. Contractors should be hopeful for more certainty, and suppliers greater predictability, allowing the industry to better service the nation’s demands, but the proof will be in the pudding. Look closely to these planning reforms, and any other reforms that may follow – it’ll all come out in the wash.
